Born in Wales to a quarryman father, Williams went to elementary schools and then to a County Secondary.
At the 1945 general election, Williams was sponsored by his union to run as the Labour candidate in Heston and Isleworth in west London, which had been newly created in boundary changes.
This was a much safer seat and Williams gave up his Union post in 1952 to concentrate on his Parliamentary career.
Often putting questions about the Post Office and other parts of the Civil Service, he was appointed to the Speaker's Panel of Chairmen for Standing Committees where his chairmanship was much appreciated.
Williams declined, and the offer itself was controversial as many Labour MPs felt that Macmillan should have consulted the Leader of the Labour Party Hugh Gaitskell rather than make the offer direct to Williams.